We Need to Talk About Taylor Swift

I’ve already admitted multiple times that I have a total girl crush on Taylor Swift. The hate I feel for someone who slates her is probably not normal but as she would say herself: haters gonna hate.

I never really considered myself a huge fan back in her early days, but in recent years I have found my car stocked with her CDs and my Pinterest account filled with memes, song lyrics, and pictures of her cats. If you aren’t aware of Taylor Swift’s cats, Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin Button, I strongly suggest you Google them.

Anyway, I’ve put together my list of Taylor Swift songs that just make me love her so goddamn much. If you’re a fellow Swiftie, enjoy. If you’re not, then maybe just have a laugh at my irrational fangirling. Either that or get out. I originally put this post together at the start of 2019, so it didn’t include any songs from Lover, which is a goddamn masterpiece. So, since then, I’ve since updated my list to include my favourite songs from this album too.

1. Shake It Off (1989)

Just the best song to dance to with your best friend. Also, combined with my favourite Meredith Grey quote, “Dance it out,” this is one of my favourite songs to cheer me up when I’m feeling down.

2. The Best Day (Fearless)

This song, which Taylor wrote as a tribute to her mother gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling, and it shows that some of her best work isn’t about breakups. Such a sweet song, and it always reminds me of my favourite moments with my Mama.

3. You Need to Calm Down (Lover)

First of all, can we just appreciate how bloody fantastic the video for this was? I remember first hearing this and I absolutely loved it from the start. It’s the perfect song for sticking your middle finger up to the haters, and it’s one of my favourite songs to belt out while driving.

4. New Year’s Day (Reputation)

As much as I loved all of Reputation, Taylor definitely saves the best till last with New Year’s Day. It’s one of those songs that just makes me think of the good times had with my friends. Although I wouldn’t listen to it hungover as it gets you just a little bit too emotional…

5. Enchanted (Speak Now)

This had to be my favourite song on Speak Now. I don’t particularly relate, but the lyrics and general melody are just BEAUT.

6. All Too Well (Red)

Omg. This was the song that caused me to fall in love with Taylor. Her performance of this at the 2014 Grammys genuinely gave me goosebumps. Not only that, but this song is an example of how she is an amazing storyteller in her songwriting. She also performs this on the Reputation Tour on Netflix, and I genuinely cried watching it.

7. Lover (Lover)

Hearing this song for the first time had me feeling pretty emotional. Mainly because of the lyrics, but also because I was heartbroken this hadn’t come out in 2015, as it totally would have been our first dance at our wedding. I love the video for this too, and the fact that each room in the house represents an earlier album, and it’s just so pretty to look at. My favourite memory of this song though, is Lillie and I singing it drunk as hell, at the top of our lungs when we went to the Swiftogeddon club night back in November 2019.

8. Clean (1989)

Unless you’ve got this album, you may not have heard of this one. While it’s generally about feeling you’re finally over a break up, for me, I felt I could apply a lot of the lyrics to my mental state (that’s a whole other blog post for another time). I listened to 1989 a lot during the years I was really struggling with my mental health (“when I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe”) and I always thought that Clean was a good metaphor to aim for at the end of my CBT. Obviously not all of it relates, but it’s a song that would calm me down during some really difficult periods.

9. Look What You Made Me Do (Reputation)

Controversial, but this song is just so badass, and it’s one of the best songs to listen to when you’re psyching yourself up or you’ve been severely wronged by someone. Not to mention Taylor is just fierce AF in the music video.

10. Never Grow Up (Speak Now)

A sweet song about how we all seem to grow up too quickly. Again, probably not a song to listen to when you’re severely hungover or you’re having a bit of a crisis, as it all gets a bit too intense.

11. ME! feat. Brendan Urie (Lover)

I’ll be honest, the amount of people who slated this when it first came out made me rather angry. This is just one of the best songs when it comes to embracing who you are, and the collab with Brendan Urie from Panic! At the Disco just tops it off perfectly. I think paired with the excitement of the fact that this song was the first to come out of the Lover era, this song will always have a special place in my Swiftie fangirl playlist. Plus, the music video features her cats, including the acting debut of Benjamin Button.

12. Getaway Car (Reputation)

This is another one of my favourites from Reputation, mainly because it’s storytelling at its finest. Since I recently watched the Miss Americana documentary too, the whole scene where Taylor is in the studio coming up with the lyrics which then cuts to her performing it at the stadium tour really sticks out in my mind whenever I hear it.

13. 22 (Red)

One of my favourite songs to request at any party, aside from Shake It Off, obvs. For that reason, it’s another one that reminds me of all the good times had with my friends. There’s nothing better than screaming “I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I’M FEELING 22″ at the top of your lungs after a couple of sambucas in an overcrowded nightclub.

14. Gorgeous (Reputation)

This song just sums up my feelings about Russell Howard, Olly Murs and Zac Efron. Jokes. It’s just another one of Taylor’s songs that I can’t help but sing along to when I’m driving, and I especially love the line “I guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats.”

15. London Boy (Lover)

Okay so I’ll admit, Lover has since become my favourite Taytay album since it came out, hence why there’s so many songs from it in this list. One of my favourite songs on the album has to be London Boy, simply because it’s so catchy and upbeat!

Just to point out, this was a very hard list to put together. Honourable mentions include:

The Man (Lover) – Two words: feminist bop.

Long Live (Speak Now) – Reminds me of my best friends and the fun times we’ve had.

Soon You’ll Get Better (Lover) – Taylor wrote this about her mother’s cancer battle. It’s utterly heartbreaking but it’s a beautiful song and will have you crying behind the wheel of your car.

Fifteen (Fearless) – Reminds me of the early days of being at school and the naivety of being young.

Cruel Summer (Lover) – Another song to belt out in the car, especially the line “I LOVE YOU AIN’T THAT THE WORST THING YOU EVER HEARD?”

Delicate (Reputation) – I love the lyrics, the beat and just the song as a whole. Plus the dance routine in the video is just goals.

I’ll be honest, even that was difficult to narrow down. If there’s any of these you’ve not heard of, I suggest you give them a listen!

What are your favourite Taylor Swift songs? Let me know in the comments!